EXECUTIVE BRANCH · OGE FORM 278-T

Do Executive-Branch Officials Have to Disclose Stock Trades?

Yes.Senior officials across the executive branch — Cabinet secretaries, agency heads, Senate-confirmed appointees, senior White House staff, and the President and Vice President — are required to publicly disclose their securities transactions. Under Section 6 of the STOCK Act, any covered official who trades stocks, bonds, or other securities worth more than $1,000 must file an OGE Form 278-T periodic transaction report within 45 days.

Signal Congress tracks 16,114 disclosed executive-branch securities transactions from 298 officials (Jan 2020 – Jul 2026), alongside congressional STOCK Act filings — enabling detection of cross-branch convergence.

16,114
DISCLOSED TRANSACTIONS
298
EXECUTIVE OFFICIALS
Jan 2020 – Jul 2026
COVERAGE WINDOW
THE REQUIREMENT

What the STOCK Act requires of the executive branch

The Stop Trading on Congressional Knowledge (STOCK) Act of 2012 amended the Ethics in Government Act to require executive-branch public financial disclosure filers to report individual securities transactions. The reporting rules are precise:

Who filesPublic financial disclosure filers (OGE Form 278e): Senate-confirmed presidential appointees, Senior Executive Service, Senior-Level and Scientific/Professional employees, Schedule C appointees, and the President and Vice President.
What triggers a reportAny purchase, sale, or exchange of stocks, bonds, commodity futures, or other securities over $1,000 by the filer, their spouse, or a dependent child.
DeadlineWithin 30 days of being notified of the transaction, but no later than 45 days after the transaction — whichever is earlier.
How it is filedElectronically via the federal Integrity system (integrity.gov); reports are posted publicly, generally on the filer’s agency website.
Penalty for late filingA $200 late-filing fee per report.
ExemptionsDiversified mutual funds and other excepted investment funds, U.S. Treasuries, bank/money-market accounts, Thrift Savings Plan accounts, and real property.

Source: STOCK Act § 6; Ethics in Government Act § 103(l) (5 U.S.C. § 13105(l)); U.S. Office of Government Ethics, 5 C.F.R. part 2634, OGE Form 278-T.

CROSS-BRANCH CONVERGENCE

When Congress and a Cabinet official trade the same stock

Because Signal Congress ingests both congressional STOCK Act filings and executive-branch OGE 278-T disclosures, it can surface cross-branch convergence— the same security disclosed by a member of Congress and an executive-branch official within a close window. This is a sequence in the public record, not an allegation: it shows where attention from two branches of government lands on the same company at the same time, with full provenance to each source filing.

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FAQ

Executive-branch disclosure, answered

Do executive-branch officials have to disclose their stock trades?▾
Yes. Under Section 6 of the STOCK Act (2012), senior executive-branch officials who file public financial disclosure reports (OGE Form 278e) must also file a Periodic Transaction Report (OGE Form 278-T) for any purchase, sale, or exchange of stocks, bonds, or other securities over $1,000 by the official, their spouse, or a dependent child.
What is OGE Form 278-T?▾
OGE Form 278-T is the Periodic Transaction Report used by executive-branch public filers to disclose individual securities transactions over $1,000. It is filed electronically through the federal Integrity system (integrity.gov) and posted publicly, typically on the filer’s agency website within 30 days of filing.
How quickly must an executive official report a trade?▾
Within 30 days of being notified of the transaction, but no later than 45 days after the transaction itself — whichever comes first. Late reports carry a $200 fee. These are the same STOCK Act deadlines that apply to members of Congress.
Does the President have to disclose stock trades?▾
The President and Vice President are public financial disclosure filers and are subject to the periodic transaction reporting requirements. Signal Congress tracks executive-branch 278-T filings as they are published.
Which securities are exempt from 278-T reporting?▾
Diversified mutual funds and other excepted investment funds, U.S. Treasury securities, bank accounts (CDs, savings, checking, money market), Thrift Savings Plan accounts, and real property do not have to be reported on a 278-T.
How is executive-branch disclosure different from congressional trading?▾
Members of Congress file STOCK Act periodic transaction reports through the House Clerk and Senate; executive-branch officials file OGE Form 278-T through the Office of Government Ethics. Signal Congress covers both — and detects cross-branch convergence, where the same security is traded by a member of Congress and an executive-branch official within a close window.
KEEP READING
Executive Branch Dashboard→STOCK Act Late Disclosures→How Signal Congress Works→Member Trading Profiles→

Signal Congress surfaces public disclosure data from OGE Form 278-T filings and congressional STOCK Act reports. This is not investment advice and does not imply wrongdoing by any official.